2016 SPAIN PAVILION INSTALLATION – VENICE BIENNALE

Unfinished, the exhibition presented at the Spanish Pavilion for the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale (2016), explores architectural strategies born out of the economic crisis. Winner of the Golden Lion, the pavilion reflects on Spain’s landscape of incomplete constructions, transforming them into optimistic opportunities. It showcases an architecture of renunciation and economy of means, designed to constantly evolve, adapt to future necessities, and find beauty in the passage of time.
To materialize this curatorial concept into a coherent spatial experience, the exhibition design utilizes structural frames constructed from standard Knauf drywall steel profiles, left intentionally exposed to evoke the raw aesthetic of an incomplete building. These frameworks provide the support for seven distinct photographic collections. In the central pavilion hall, a dynamic group of seven large-scale suspended frames is engineered to be hoisted upwards, effortlessly clearing the floor to accommodate a modular seating area for lectures and conference events.

The client required technical solutions, engineering, and structural safety calculations for the kinetic movement system in the central hall, focusing specifically on:

• Parallel lifting of all large-scale exhibition frames.
• Aesthetic harmonization of the mechanical components with the overall minimalist design of the pavilion.
• Lifting speed control and noise reduction during operation.
• Mechanical development of the opening mechanism for the main entrance portal.

Seven large-scale frames (7000x2000mm), constructed from Knauf press-formed galvanized sheet steel drywall profiles, were designed to host the exhibited photography and lift simultaneously to temporarily clear the space below.
To achieve this, we first engineered a minimalist stiffening structure secured to the top transom of each frame, eliminating any noticeable deflection at the center. A single, 12 meters drive shaft was then installed above the central beam of the hall, coupled with a gear motor. This centralized system successfully synchronized 14 stainless steel lifting cables, ensuring perfect parallelism throughout the movement. A network of 24 pulleys, supported by an overhead beam framework, routed the cables while providing a 2:1 mechanical advantage to halve the traction effort.

• Laser-cut stainless steel sheet metal
• Ipe and hollow sections hot rolled beams
• galvanized cold rolled profiles
• stainless steel cables

Length: 7000mm
Width: 12000mm
Height : 6000mm

Unfinished.es – pavilion project website
Inaqui Carnicero
Carlos Quintans
Luigi d’Oro Studio
Arguzia